The gear was removed because it was confusing to have a prominent icon just to access settings that the target user has no need for, while the essential settings are in the standard, yet less prominent location under File > Preferences.
You can now access those settings by opening the command palette with the Ctrl+Shift+P keyboard shortcut, searching for "settings", then selecting "Settings: Open Preferences".
The last time the discussion came up, the feedback was that the settings don't seem to be working very reliably:
https://forum.arduino.cc/t/turn-off-ide-2-0-0-beta5-editing-popup/852851/5?u=pert
No worries. It's very useful to get feedback from you regarding your initial experience with the new IDE.